Martin Luther

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LOSSE is no shame, nor to be lesse then foe;
But to bee lesser then himselfe doth marre
Both loosers lott, and victours prayse alsoe:
Vaine others overthrowes who selfe doth overthrow.Edmund Spenser

THE best way in the world for a man to seem to be anything is really to be what he would seem to be. . . . All other arts will fail, but truth and integrity will carry a man through, and bear him out to the last.Archbishop Tillotson

WHAT thou are, that thou art; neither by words canst thou be made greater than what thou art in the sight of God. If thou consider what thou art within thee, thou wilt not care what men talk of thee. Man looketh on the countenance, but God on the heart. Man considereth the deeds, but God weigheth the intentions.Thomas à Kempis

I AM more afraid of my own heart than of the Pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, self.Martin Luther

TALK not to me of scandal and offence. Need breaks through stone walls, and recks not of scandal. It is my duty to spare weak consciences as far as it may be done without hazard of my soul. Where not I must take counsel for my soul, though half or the whole world should be scandalized thereby.Martin Luther

REBELLION to tyrants is obedience to God.John Bradshaw

IF necessity breeds no heroism, the people are not worth their own redemption.Henrik Ibsen

“LIE still, be strong,” to-day; but Lord, tomorrow,
What of to-morrow, Lord?
Shall there be rest from toil, be truce from sorrow,
Be living green upon the sward
Now but a barren grave to me,
Be joy for sorrow?
“Did I not die for thee?
Do I not live for thee?
Leave Me to-morrow.”Christina Rossetti

HE who believes in God is not careful for the morrow, but labours joyfully and with a great heart. “For He giveth His beloved, as in sleep.” They must work and watch, yet never be careful or anxious, but commit all to Him, and live in serene tranquillity; with a quiet heart, as one who sleeps safely and quietly.Martin Luther

I SAW a delicate flower had grown up two feet high, between the horses’ path and the wheel-track. An inch more to right or left had sealed its fate, or an inch higher; and yet it lived to flourish as much as if it had a thousand acres of untrodden space around it, and never knew the danger it incurred. It did not borrow trouble, nor invite an evil fate by apprehending it.Henry D. Thoreau

AND though they take our life,
Goods, honour, children, wife,
Yet is their profit small;
These things shall vanish all,
The City of God remaineth.Martin Luther

HUMANITY has always slain or persecuted those who have disturbed this selfish repose of hers. She only improves in spite of herself. The only progress which she desires is an increase of enjoyments. All advances in justice, in morality, in holiness, have been imposed upon or forced from her by some noble violence. Sacrifice, which is the passion of great souls, has never been the law of societies.Henri F. Amiel

SOCIETY everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the i members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs.Ralph Waldo Emerson

IT is not only by steel or fire, but through contempt and blame, that the martyr fulfils the calling of his dear soul.Robert Louis Stevenson